Benefits of gigahertz mode spacing for frequency comb

03 Jan 2018

Laser Quantum’s 1 GHz spaced frequency comb! The taccor comb is an excellent extension of the successful taccor range. Benefiting applications including; optical clocks, spectrographic calibration, direct, and dual comb spectroscopy.

The comb comprises; a powerful 1 GHz turn-key Ti:Sapphire laser and a matched dispersion compensation module, super-continuum generation and ultra-stable f-to-2f interferometer all in a single sealed and ultra-stable housing. The taccor comb is fully stabilised using the Menlo XPS800-E feedback loop electronics and provides an electrical output signal at the carrier-envelope offset (CEO) frequency with at least 40 dB signal-to-noise ratio in 300 kHz bandwidth. The taccor comb provides the ideal solution for customers who seek to have a comb source with easy access to the visible and NIR spectral range at a high mode power level in a sealed, plug and play architecture. The high repetition rate of 1 GHz leads to a large mode spacing and high power per mode on the order of typically 1 μW after broadening. In addition, the comb offers high repetition rates enabling generation of significantly more supercontinuum average power in a PCF compared to systems at 100 MHz (100x more) or 250 MHz (16x more) before significant nonlinear coherence loss is suffered. This leads to a significantly enhanced SNR for heterodyne beat measurements for direct frequency comb spectroscopy applications.

The advent of hermetically sealed GHz lasers with “fit-and-forget” technology, and the advantages of Ti:Sapphire means there are four main benefits over standard 100 MHz systems, namely:

· Larger mode spacing – Simplification of beat identification

· Higher power per mode – Increased signal to noise ratio for heterodyne beat or direct spectroscopy

· Easier to resolve modes – Calibration or direct spectroscopy

· Reduces pulse to pulse spacing – Enhanced duty cycle in applications such as dual comb spectroscopy

For any further information on the taccor comb and its applications, please visit us at Photonics West, booth #731 or contact us at info@laserquantum.com.